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PREP SOCCER: Eastside Lady Eagles get back to winning ways at Salem

Eastside sophomore Aralyn Everett is one of several Lady Eagles leading the charge of one of the most explosive scoring offenses in the state. -photo by Ben Ennis

CONYERS, Ga. — It was an all-around dominant effort from the Eastside Lady Eagles soccer team in region 4-AAAA play as they mercy-ruled the Lady Seminoles of Salem by a score of 9-0 Friday night.

This was a bounce-back game for the Lady Eagles after their tough 3-0 loss to Woodward Academy, and their first chance to get back out on the pitch since Woodward, due to cold weather postponing a region game with Luella. And bouncing back is exactly what the Lady Eagles did.

“We did a lot of things well. We passed well tonight, communicated well,” said head coach Joel Singleton. “It’s nice to get a win after playing Woodward last week, so, good way to rebound.”

The Lady Eagles had complete control in every facet of the game from their goalkeeper all the way up to their attack. Their attack stood out immediately as they scored in the first 30 seconds of the game and had a five goal lead 10 minutes into play.

They had multiple players find their way on the score sheet but the stout attacking efforts from Mya Cummings and Aralyn Everett gave them plenty of opportunities at goal.

Cummings led the way in scoring for the Lady Eagles with a hat trick and Everett had an outstanding night as well with two goals and an assist of her own. The connection between her and Everett was on point all night long and very tough to stop.

“We needed to get (Mya Cummings) going, and tonight was a great way to get her going and get her confidence back up because she was a great asset for us last year,” Singleton said. “I was really proud of her tonight.”

For the Lady Eagles’ fifth goal of the game, Everett made a perfect run past the defenders and after two dribbles forward she crossed to a wide-open Cummings for the goal.

This aggressive attack was consistently on display but can be attributed to the aggression shown in both the defense and midfield. The Lady Eagles’ midfield was consistently swarming after loose balls and doing an excellent job of keeping the ball on the Seminoles’ side of field.

If the ball somehow slipped past the midfield, Eastside’s defense transitioned back and did a good job of blocking balls and keeping them from getting in the back of the net.

Eastside’s ability to consistently possess was pleasing for Singleton to see.

“Anytime you can dominate possession, then you control the game and you control the outcome of the game,” Singleton said. “It kept pressure off our defense which is the best thing we can do.”

The Lady Seminoles’ limited opportunities offensively allowed for an easy night for Lady Eagles keeper Anna Shelton. She spent the majority of her time away from the goal, standing as far up as midfield at some points.

However, Shelton was deft in front of the net, coming up with several impressive saves in the rare moments the Lady Seminoles’ attack broke through.

The win raised Eastside’s record 4-1 overall and 2-1 in region play, and should provide a confidence boost as it heads into Saturday play against the Newton Rams before getting back to region action against a Luella team (5-1) that’s a perfect 2-0 in Region 4-AAAA play.